For The Greater Good
by Naughtty
Summary: "There was no cleansing light this time. With a flick of her wrist, Ladybug could have reversed all of the damage dealt to Gabriel. With any luck, she could have even restored his miraculous. But she refused. Nooroo did not deserve this fate, but Gabriel Agreste did."
1. Chapter 1: Good Luck

Chapter 1: Good Luck

She had been waiting for this day for a long time.

Had the time finally come, after all these years? What had they been without each other? Perhaps this would finally be the end. They could have closure. Their final note, striking a chord with such disdain. At long last putting this partnership to rest.

She had been planning for this day for a long time.

Her apartment door was unlocked when she got home, that's how she knew. Her stomach churned with a sensation she had not felt in years. A feeling of completeness. Belonging. Followed by an unrelenting volley of fear and anxiety.

She had been dreading this day for a long time.

The day Chat Noir would pay her a visit.

Marinette slammed the deadlock as she entered the hushed living room. Not a sound could be heard as if the very city of Paris held its breath. Flipping on the light, she found herself alone, haunted by the black corridor that lead to her kitchen. Silently, she crept past the living room. She could feel sweat beginning to run down her forehead. A shiver jerked from her spine down to her feet, misplacing her steps as she walked.

Words escaped her as his figure came into view, sitting on her kitchen counter, blanketed by the darkness. With her hands trembling, she started to reach for the light but decided against it. Chat had not lived in the light since they were young. A moment passed once more without a sound. In the dim light, she had almost not realized that he was in civilian form. Here sat Adrien Agreste, once an icon in the world of fashion, reduced to a pair of black, slim-fit jeans and a dark grey army jumper. His boots were covered in dirt. He had been busy this night. He was bleeding.

The wind carried the sound of bustling traffic through the open window beside him. As much as Marinette wanted to reach out to him, to help him, to tend to his wounds, she knew he was ready to leap out if she came any closer.

"If you're looking for my earrings you won't find them here."

The accusation finally escaped her lips.

He did not answer. He made no acknowledgement of her words, not even a flinch. Only continuing to stare out the darkened window as he no doubt considered his next move.

A cat planning his escape route.

"I saw you on the news last night…" Marinette continued. The room grew more tense with every syllable.

"You didn't have to kill those people."

He spoke three words. There was no aggression, no hatred, no judgement. He simply stated with a vacant, ghostly timbre.

"They were criminals."

His voice had grown so different since they had last spoken.

Now Marinette's vision had adjusted to the darkness. She could see his face, locks of hair draped over his eyes, with unkempt patches of scruffy facial hair. He had a deep cut sliced upwards from the corner of his left eye. Her eyes began to swell with tears.

"Criminals, not super villains!" she stomped.

Once again, Adrien showed no reaction to her words. It had been over a decade since the two of them ended the akuma onslaught that had terrorized Paris for the greater half of their adolescence. Why was he still fighting?

"Adrien…" His name hurt to speak.

"I've worried about you every day. _Every. Day._ I can't stand the thought of you out there on your own."

She choked on the memories of their crime-fighting youth. After the incident with Hawk Moth, Adrien was never the same. He lost faith in their powers. He refused to look Marinette in the eyes. Nevertheless he continued to fight, terrorizing the criminals of Paris. Killing. Annihilating. Ladybug was no longer there to reverse the results of his massacre, his unbound brutality.

And she had been fearing the day Chat Noir would come to her for help.

"We can still begin again. You can stop this senseless mayhem! We could protect the city like we used to. Together. Ladybug and Chat Noir! The unstoppable te-"

Her words were cut short as Adrien slammed his fist against the wall.

"Don't ever call me by that name." he growled.

He shifted on leg out the window, ready to retreat.

Perhaps she wasn't afraid of the day Chat Noir came to her for help; but afraid that that day would never come again. Marinette dug her fingernails into the palms of her hands to fight back the tears.

It killed her to witness first-hand what had become of the promising young Adrien Agreste. He was broken. His moral compass had been abandoned. He would get what he was after and he didn't care what kind of trail of bloodshed and destruction he left in his wake.

For just a moment, Mari thought the experience with Hawk Moth left Adrien… Akumatized.

She closed her eyes, flooding with tears, and turned away from the window. Her voice shook with pain at what she was about to say.

"I'm sorry this happened to you Adrien.. I am so… so sorry… But if you continue to wreak havoc I will have no choice but to step in."

Adrien's head jerked slightly and he glanced at Marinette. Had those words finally gotten a reaction? Did he only feel safe looking at her when she wasn't looking at him, when she couldn't bear to? He shifted his other leg out the window.

"If you continue to walk this path, you will have to answer to Ladybug. And I _will_ put an end to this."

Mari's voice grew stronger. She had made her decision. She set the rules, and if Adrien wanted to play this game, she was ready.

Adrien paused and looked back before leaping out the window and vanishing into the darkness. He used to have such a way with words, usually too many. But not this time. This time he only uttered two words.

"Good luck."


	2. Chapter 2: Bad Luck

**Chapter 2: Bad Luck**

Part 1 - Living Together

Plagg didn't talk to Adrien much anymore, not after what he did to Nooroo.

If the kwami had learned anything from what became of Hawk Moth, it's that the miraculous holder's word was all powerful. Tolerance played no part in the act of a miraculous transformation. When your miraculous holder said transform, you transformed. No matter what their intentions may be.

Adrien slouched in his car outside the Louvre. He hadn't told Plagg what they were doing here so late. He never told Plagg anything.

Adrien didn't talk to Plagg much anymore, not after what he did to his father.

He was always looking at that big book of his. Plagg had no idea why. He knew Adrien couldn't read it. How did Plagg know? Plagg couldn't read the book, and Plagg could read a few thousand more languages than Adrien could.

Condescension. That's how this pair used to communicate. The dumbfounded curiosity of the human and the godlike superiority of the Kwami. It was a pretty sweet gig for the old cat.

Now the two only shared an infinite silence.

Plagg and Adrien didn't talk much anymore.

The dry silence of the car was broken when Adrien slammed the book shut. Plagg had been trying to take a bit of a cat nap in the back seat, and his eyes shot open, startled by the powerful thud. In truth, he had not been sleeping, he couldn't.

In all his years, there had been 3 times that the almighty Plagg, god of destruction could not sleep.

The first time came in the days after Ladybug and Chat Noir defeated Hawk Moth. The disturbance did not come immediately, as Plagg had no recollection of what Adrien had done with his powers that night. He never did. When your Miraculous holder said transform, you transformed and hoped for the best. Plagg did not sleep for days.

The second time came not long after the first. This time, Adrien did not need Plagg's power to commit this heinous act. Plagg could only watch helplessly, tucked away inside his jacket. Tikki was there too. He often wondered about Tikki, and how she handled what she saw Adrien do. Tikki had been missing ever since that day. That kept Plagg up at night.

That brings us to now.

Plagg cannot sleep. Adrien had taken him on several patrols over the years, but tonight felt different. Adrien had this poignant expression on his face. An eerie smirk slid up his cheek. It was that book. Something had finally clicked within him. Things were falling into place for Adrien Agreste.

Plagg, a powerful Kwami, a god of destruction, was losing sleep. It was that look in Adrien's eyes. The time had come once again. He was on a hunt, and he had found his prey.

Plagg had been dreading this night for a long time.

The night Adrien Agreste would kill again.

Adrien sat up, reaching for the door handle, and froze with his ear against the car window. A black van was approaching, loud and reckless, flying past Adrien's car and up to The Louvre. Two men in masks and black outfits jumped out of the vehicle, and attached a chain to the front entrance. The van, driven by a third member, jerked back in reverse, prying the doors open. Clearly these men couldn't think they would get away with this. Clearly they had not heard of the Black Cat of Paris. But he had heard of them.

"Plagg, you know what to do."

Adrien opened the door and stepped out onto the empty street. Had those really become the magic words for his transformation? Plagg was unwillingly vacuumed into Adrien's ring and everything went black. Adrien and Plagg were no longer two individuals, they were one. They were Chat Noir. Plagg became no less of a murderer than Adrien.

The outfit had changed a lot over the past few years. Now in his twenties, Adrien developed a distaste for the catlike attire. He ditched the pointy ears, tightened his long tail-like belt over his shoulder, and tore off the shiny bell. At first glance, you would wonder why they call him The Black Cat of Paris. Except, there was one thing he wanted to keep.

He wanted the claws.

The two men had disappeared into the museum.

Their driver, Logan Dupont, sat alone in the van, sweating, shaking. Logan was a local, who had lived in Paris his entire life. In his youth, he wanted to become a big-shot, blockbuster movie stunt driver. Shortly after finishing school, he fell on hard times due to an unforgiving drug addiction. He recently scored a job at a restaurant, a fast food chain, one of six identical restaurants in the city. The money wasn't enough. Logan did not know the other two men - they were from out of town. They just needed someone to drive, someone who knew these streets. They were offering a generous percentage of the take.

Logan nervously rubbed his thumb against the column shifter of the running van. He still had the chance to opt out. The kid who hired him had a history of impossible getaways, but why did he need a new driver for every job he pulled? He couldn't argue with the money. He wouldn't dare.

Logan Dupont would never again operate any vehicle or machinery, not after Chat Noir's extending staff shot through the passenger window and rammed into his temple.

Part 2 - No Sleep Tonight

Chat moved with a silent, unerring stride, past the van and through the barged entrance. Much to his surprise, the museum was coated in darkness, only the distant glow of the streetlights shone through the skylights. The facility's power had been sabotaged. Chat wasn't so sure if these men were the amateurs he first perceived them to be, but he was certain that they did not know his name. Paris was The Black Cat's territory; Darkness was his home.

He kept his ear to the ground. Two pairs of scuttling feet echoed through the empty complex. The men had taken separate paths. Two pairs of footsteps, moving away from one another. No matter how disinterested Chat was in their plan, he couldn't help but ponder what would be worth such a risk. On the subject of priceless artwork in The Louvre, the mind immediately turned to the Mona Lisa.

Breaking down the entrance to the world's largest museum does not leave any time for error if your heist is going to succeed, if it ever could. Furthermore, what happens after you stole the Mona Lisa? What kind of black market lunatic would ever be able to fence the world's most renowned work of art?

Whoever was behind this wanted the take for himself.

Chat had found his mark.

Still, two things did not add up:

Why would these men risk lifetime imprisonment for this heist?

And if they were here for the Mona Lisa, why was one of the crooks moving in the opposite direction than the painting?

Chat did not have time to care as he was closing in on his prey. The odd pair of footsteps were leading him to the exhibition hall, where the annual superhero exhibit had opened last week.

He sharpened his claws on the museum walls as he ran.

Roman Petrov was not going towards the exhibition hall.

Roman Petrov did not believe in superheroes.

The concept that a person could be given power greater than the average man without sacrifice, without training, without discipline? Roman found this repulsive. He was offended when Demetri split up to get something from the exhibit.

Their prize was in sight now. Demetri was always the one to find a workaround to the security. These damned kids and their computers. Roman was boiling as his pace slowed to a stop. _What was taking that kid so long?_

The bright, lavish colors of the superhero exhibit felt eerie in the darkness. Much of the area was decorated in a vibrant red with black polka dots. Banners draped from the ceiling of the famous Ladybug and Chat Noir of days past. Their glory days. No actual artifacts from the akuma attacks were on display, only photographs of the events matched with replicas of the villain's weapons and outfits. In the silence, Demetri swore he could hear Roman grinding his teeth.

"Wow! Just look at all of this! Real life supervillains, right here in Paris!"

He bounced around the room with a childish enthusiasm. He did not live in Paris, but he knew all about superheroes. He believed.

Demetri let out a squawking laugh when he finally saw her.

Volpina.

Chat Noir watched silently from the ceiling. He was encompassed by memories of his past. Every akuma, every travesty at the hands of Hawk Moth, every reason he must finish the job. He dropped to the floor with a whisper.

Demetri was talking again, quietly. Chat struggled to make out the words.

Two words penetrated him with extreme clarity.

"Transform me!"

Chat's eyes flared.

Choosing a miraculous holder was not an easy task. A person's good will was a fragile coil: the Hawk Moth onslaught taught Master Fu that. Because of this, he hoarded his remaining two miraculouses. Six years past after Hawk Moth's defeat, and Fu could stand it no longer. His time on this earth was limited, unlike the Kwami. He could not allow them to sit in his box long after his passing, possibly an eternity.

Choosing a miraculous holder was not a decision to be taken lightly. It was not a decision that you can rush. But that is exactly what Master Fu did. Demetri seemed like such a gentle, innocent kid. He was behind Fu in line at a grocery market, when Fu turned up short for his total, Demetri jumped at the chance to pay the difference. Such a nice gesture. Fu shook the boy's hand and with a sly flick of his wrist, dropped the necklace into his coat pocket. Little did he know Demetri had more than enough money to spare.

Demetri was the heir of a long line of thieves and con-artists. His father got him into the game, and he played it well. The Vulpes Miraculous' powers of deception only made his work a cakewalk.

Hawk Moth was a bad apple, and so too was Volpe.

Somewhere along the line, Fu also managed to give away the bee comb miraculous for a bee powered superhero. They were never seen saving the streets of Paris. Some say they had the power of flight and blacked out from the extreme altitude. Some say they were sucked into a jet turbine. Some say The Black Cat of Paris came for them before they could even learn of their new found powers.

So here stood Volpe, a miraculous superhero turned supervillain. There was no doubt about it now. He was hearing Roman grind his teeth after all.

Petrified by the display of Demetri's transformation, Roman's feet rooted to the ground at the entrance of the exhibition hall. He had expected to find the boy gawking at statues in tights, not wearing them. He could not believe this deceit. Rage fumed from his eyes as they beamed at Demetri. Adrien had seen that look before. He remembered the expression all too well.

 _My son… a superhero?_

Roman brushed his palm against the holster of his gun to dry the sweat, but his hand did not leave his side. Demetri found himself paralyzed with terror. The two of them had been an unstoppable father-son duo, but Demetri was modest. With the powers he had been given, there was never a job when he wasn't pulling the strings. It was Volpe, every lift, every con, every heist, it was all done with the vulpes miraculous' power of deception.

Roman felt he was going to vomit.

Demetri felt his eyes beginning to flood.

"Father! Please, let me explain!"

Chat would not give him the time of day. He brandished his staff and pounced out of the shadows, his stride surging towards Volpe.

It was Roman who first saw the black of the darknesses gliding towards Demetri. He remained aghast to the reality playing out before him.

 _My son… is a superhero?_

A low thud pulsed through the room as Chat's baton crashed against the side of Volpe's head. There was a moment of confusion in Volpe's mind. Confusion, followed by a burning ferocity as he spiraled into the mannequins of the Akumatized villains, demolishing a display case filled with replicas of various villain's signature weapons.

Adrenaline coursed through Volpe's body. He grabbed the nearest weapon to his left and warped to his feet, swinging desperately at his shadowy opponent. His weapon of chance was a replica of Darkblade's broadsword, which clashed with Chat's shoulder, splintering the fabricated blade into pieces. Chat was unprepared for such a sudden retaliation. Volpe frantically grabbed at the debris around him for another weapon.

The two juggernauts continued to battle. Roman could only watch, literally powerless. He felt a weakness within him that he had not felt before. He felt meager, minuscule, and most of all irrelevant.

 _My son is a superhero… fighting a supervillain._

But there was something about the man in black. Even in the black gloom of the night, he could see the grin on his face. He was holding back against Demetri. Toying with him.

Volpe grabbed at the last weapon he could detect. He looked at to his clasped hand hoping to find a saving grace. Instead, there was only… a flute? What good would this do him?

It wouldn't matter, Chat Noir was ready to finish the job. With a devastating blur of a strike, Chat thrusted his claws at his chest. Blood erupted from Volpe's mouth as the claws hooked and bored into his skin, piercing his heart like a bullet.

No one should ever have to die twice. For Demetri Petrov-De Luce it happened both times, at once. Chat Noir held his face with a rigid grasp, eyes fixed, his grin glowing white in the dark, teeth glinting. The cat had won. And he wanted Demetri's last lucid moment to be a spectator to what he was about to do.

Roman cringed as his son choked and screamed in anguish. Chat pulled the blood soaked claws from his chest and raise the hand into view. Clinched in the palm of his razor bladed vise was the pendant of Demetri's foxtail necklace.

With a slight twitch of his neck, he muttered the word.

"Cataclysm."

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines the word, cataclysm, as "a momentous and violent even marked by overwhelming upheaval and demolition."

When Chat Noir uses the word cataclysm, it meant one thing:

 _Checkmate._

For an instant, Demetri felt nothing. Nothing, a stillness, almost serene in nature. Complete tranquility, followed by an excruciating torment that no mortal being had ever perceived. His body was being drained and now, the Kwami that had been fused within his being, within his soul, was eroding. Decaying. Demetri howled at the ungodly sensation as his lungs filled with blood.

His transformation deteriorated from around him, abandoning his frail, withering vessel. The bright orange glow of his disguise seemed to tear away, being devoured by the darkness. His gaze turned to Roman as he fell back to the ground. His expression repenting, pleading for mercy. Roman never noticed that Demetri had Elisa's eyes.

Now another set of eyes were on him, blazing green. Riddled with guilt and panic, Roman's mind told his body to run, but in his mind's absence his body had already drawn his pistol, sights aimed at Chat Noir. Roman hesitated, certainly not his first mistake. Chat threw himself at Roman. He closed his eyes and pulled the trigger. The crack of the gun reverberated like thunder.

When he opened his eyes, he saw the pair of green eyes, much closer now. Chat Noir, his son's own personal supervillain, clutched the smoking barrel of the gun. The shot had not missed. Blood began to leak down from the corner of his mask. Chat pushed the gun aside and seized Roman's face with his right claw. Adrien used to be such a showman. Each time he would use his cataclysm as a kid, it was accompanied with a special battle pose, like he was charging up his ultimate power. The villains knew they were in trouble when Chat Noir called out that magic word. Cataclysm… is his trump card. In the years after the defeat of Hawk Moth, Adrien discovered that he need only whisper the word to destroy anything to the same effect. Perhaps this lack of showmanship made him forget, his power can only be used once per transformation.

The power was restored to the museum. Whatever trickery Demetri had in place to distract the guards and tamper with the facility's power and security systems has faded with his Kwami. Roman held his eyes closed as Chat dug his claws into his forehead. When he dared to open them, he was gone, and the vibrant colors of the ruined superhero exhibit were fully illuminated in the fluorescent lighting. So too was his son's torn carcass.

Sirens blared from just outside of the complex. Roman still had his gun in his trembling hand.

Roman Petrov did not believe in superheroes.

One way or another, he was going to Hell.

When Plagg was finally released from Adrien's ring, he knew there would be no sleep tonight.

Adrien Agreste had taken another life, more ancient than he could comprehend.

It was not Demetri Petrov-DeLuca, Plagg would never lose sleep over the trivial life of a human.

It was the necklace. The Fox Miraculous.

Adrien had taken the life of a Kwami. Another one of Plagg's own kind.

Adrien tossed him a slice of camembert.

Plagg wasn't hungry.


	3. Chapter 3: Destruction

**Chapter 3: Destruction**

Part 1 - Graduation Day

Black. Red.

Fists, bumping.

This was the first image Gabriel Agreste beheld as the world came back into focus. He had lost time again. His neck was sore. His miraculous was gone.

" _Bien Joue!"_

Ladybug. Chat Noir.

Heads held high.

The blurred hues found a shape in the form of his victorious adversaries. He had been knocked to the floor. He was bruised. He was angry.

Gabriel did not remember the battle that had taken place seconds before. The power of the Moth miraculous had always overwhelmed him. It was a far different kind of power than that of Ladybug and Chat Noir. He demanded power over others. He was the commandant to his own personal army of super powered pawns.

Gabriel Agreste wanted power. Hawk Moth wanted _The Ultimate Power_. Somewhere along the way, the two entities were no longer one. Gabriel lost himself when he put on the brooch. It was as if he himself were akumatized with each transformation.

Gabriel would not remember the malicious acts he had forced others to commit. He would not remember the darkness he would inject into innocent hearts, the manipulation of those at their most vulnerable.

He would not remember the final confrontation against Ladybug and Chat Noir.

But he always remembered one thing:

 _He remembered the sensation of power._

His mind was racing, attempting to piece together the story of his looming demise. His gaze circled the room, landing on the massive shattered window of his lookout. The floral design had been broken through the middle as the two masked heroes no doubt made a grand entrance. Broken glass covered the floor.

It was that Ladybug! Her power, her Lucky Charm! It provided the perfect disruption to allow Chat Noir to sweep in, snatching his brooch, his precious miraculous. He was defeated all too easily after all this time.

"Looks like the old man wasn't the behe _moth_ we thought him to be!"

Chat Noir closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The fresh air of Paris smelled triumphant.

Ladybug let out a sigh of both relief and annoyance.

Today was Graduation Day for Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

And the end of the war against the akumas for Ladybug and Chat Noir.

With a frivolous anticipation, Chat held the brooch close as he turned to face their tormentor. Nothing could have prepared him to witness the bruised and beaten Gabriel Agreste that kneel before him. He stood, quivering, rejecting the reality before him.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

Ladybug snickered as her eyes fell onto her companion. Chat Noir had no retort for this. For the very first instance since the day they had met, he was speechless. Now it was Ladybug's turn to drink in the identity of their oldest foe. Though they had seldom spoken brief occasions, his face was instantly distinguishable from any other. In all these years, with the dense population of Paris, she never expected to know the man behind the moth brooch. Marinette knew Gabriel Agreste. After all she was dating his son.

This night was not going to end well.

Chat's shuddering green eyes were locked with his father's. Gabriel's glare was piercing, even from a distance, his eyes aflame with hatred. A foreign expression cultivated on his face, molding his features to assemble a look Adrien had never seen from his father. It was not anger. It was not bitterness.

It was anguish.

Gabriel's eyes bled with pain. He pounded at the hard, brisk floor of his lair. What remained of his flock of butterflies scattered at the sound and fled through the broken window.

"Please… Please, I'm sorry… Please give me back my miraculous." Gabriel wept.

He watched, on his hands and knees, as his tear were pulled from his eyes, colliding with the floor.

"Please, Chat Noir… I'm sorry, for all of it, I'm so sorry… Just please, don't take my miraculous from me." Gabriel's voice wailed in pain and misery.

"Take anything from me but please don't take my miraculous!"

The tears fell harder now. Gabriel sat, bowing before Chat Noir, facing the floor. The tears formed a puddle on the lenses of his eyeglasses.

Ladybug's eyes were on Chat. Something had changed in his eyes. First there was a sadness, a look of betrayal, a slight expression of dread. Something had sparked a fury within him.

Adrien Agreste loved his father.

Chat Noir hated Hawk Moth.

Now the two were one and the same.

He began to step towards Gabriel.

"Where was all of this grief five years ago?"

Chat's words hit Gabriel harder than he could have swung his baton. He continued, his words grew stern, harder and louder with each gasping breath.

"Did you feel like this at all when you lost the love of your life? The mother of your son?"

Ladybug needed to stop this.

"Chat, what are you doing?"

Chat was moving with a tremor, quaking with rage. The untame look in his eyes made her uneasy. She would not get between them. She couldn't. Looking down she kept her eyes on Chat's left hand, gripping his baton with savage intent. There were so many things she should have done.

Gabriel was numbed by the revelation taking place. He stared into Chat Noir's eyes and caught a glimpse of his late wife shimmering in the deep green irises. It was the same look Chat would later see worn by Roman Petrov later in his life.

"A-...Adrien, you are…?"

It was already too late for Gabriel Agreste.

"Adrien please, I'm sorry for the way I've acted towards you. I love you Adrien, you're everything to me."

Gabriel knew who he was pleading to now.

"Did you ever love her?"

He could now hear his son's voice striking at him through Chat Noir. That did not make such an accusation any more excusable.

Gabriel struck the floor with his fist, bloodying his knuckles.

"You imbecile! Do you even realize what kind of lengths I would go to have her back again? All of this, every akuma, every breath tainted in darkness that I took was for her!"

Gabriel stomped to his feet before collapsing back to his knees. He was speaking to Adrien now, not Chat Noir. He paused to subdue his anger.

"Of course I loved her, Adrien! I loved her more than anyone in the world! And yes, it hurt when we lost her but…"Words eluded him.

"But what? At least you didn't lose your miraculous?!"

Gabriel was silent. Nothing he could say would change what happened to Adrien's mother. Nothing. Unless he had The Ultimate Power.

"Adrien." He reached out to his son, seeking to hold his hand, praying for an opportunity to take his brooch.

"We can talk about this, please. I'm your father. I've loved you since the day you were born, just… give me back my miraculous."

He felt it for just a moment, the wing of his miraculous.

Chat erupted.

Screaming at the top of his lungs, he pulled the brooch away from Gabriel. Once he had exhausted all of the air in his body, he took one long breath and howled.

"CATACLYSM!"

Chat Noir had never taken a life before. Now he had taken his first, and Plagg's for granted.

Gabriel and Ladybug watched in bleak trepidation as the moth brooch crumbled to pieces, carried by the wind, out through the shattered window like the many akumas it had created.

Plagg, a god of destruction, would would not find sleep for the first time that night.

Part 2 - Gabriel's Fall

The war against the akuma had ended with a stillness. Dead air stagnated in the large, dome-shaped arena. Gabriel Agreste looked as if the event had left him suspended in time. There was no more sorrow, no more repentance. Gabriel was petrified by the wrath of his golden child.

There was no cleansing light this time. With a flick of her wrist, Ladybug could have reversed all of the damage dealt to Gabriel. With any luck, she could have even restored his miraculous. But she refused.

Nooroo did not deserve this fate, but Gabriel Agreste did.

She would regret her decision to let the world endure the destruction, even just this once.

 **9 Days Remained**

"Mr. Agreste, I insist we have you taken to the hospital!"

Nathalie meant well, but she had never been one to melt the icy stubbornness of Gabriel's character. He wanted to be left alone. Without a word, he bluffed a healthy constitution as he walked up the grand staircase of the atrium. With each step, he fought the pain in his ribcage.

 _Stairs… Why did he live in a mansion with so many stairs?_

Nathalie noticed the flinch in his posture but kept to herself. She thought of Adrien and whether he had any part in this. Gabriel had been so absent recently, during such a crucial time in a young man's life. She dismissed the idea that such a sweet young man would ever lash out at his father. Even if he did, could she blame him? All he wanted was for his father to be there for his graduation.

Gabriel lapsed through the doorway to the master bedroom, pulling the heavy door closed as he fell. The slam of the door vibrated throughout the mansion, ringing with a fathomless pitch. It would be the only noise heard in the Agreste Mansion that evening.

Gabriel's form diminished. He was limping now. Finding his way to the bedroom mirror, he could finally see the damage himself. The symmetry of his angular visage had been disturbed, his left cheek swollen, and glowing red. It was from Chat Noir. He could remember that. Without a second thought, he had leapt into the battle, swiftly swinging his staff with such strength, such passion, sideswiping Hawk Moth's jaw, crashing against the side of his face. Chat had never fought with such an intent on hurting his opponent. He wanted to cause damage. Adrien was prepared to kill him, if he needed to. The memory of that would remain with Gabriel long after his transformation was lost.

The damage revealed the cost and it wasn't worth it.

He removed his blazer and unbuttoned his shirt, unveiling a scratched and beaten torso. One massive bruise covered the right side of his ribcage and traveled up his side to his shoulder. It was from Ladybug. She used her Lucky Charm. What had it been? _A sledgehammer?_ Gabriel fumed as he struggled to recall his perspective of the event. He rummaged through his medicine cabinet for something to numb the pain, just enough to get some sleep.

He was only deluding himself has he swallowed the capsule.

 **8 Days Remained**

When the morning sun began to shine through the windows of his bedroom, Gabriel remained awake, restless. At the very least the darkness of night had been comforting to him. It wasn't just the pain, it was the anger, the disappointment, the paralyzing fear.

Adrien did not come home last night.

For hours, Gabriel lay motionless, transfixed by the potent silence he was a patron to. It was not a quietness, but a complete absence of sound. Mute. Desolate.

 _Silence… Why did he live in a mansion with such silence?_

A knock on his bedroom door shattered the air like glass. He was familiar with the sound of those knuckles on his door. It was Nathalie.

"Sir, I'm sorry if I woke you, but Alec Cataldi is on the phone. He's hoping to follow up with you about the interview for your plans for the summer fashion line? Should I tell him you are unavailable?"

Work was the last thing on Gabriel's mind.

"Yes, give Alec my apologies but I'm afraid I am in no condition for an interview. He will need to reschedule for another time."

Nathalie nodded in affirmation from behind the locked door. The deafening silence began to drape back over the room. Gabriel grew bitter with impatience.

"Did you hear me, Nathalie?!" His voice boomed into the hallway. Nathalie had been brooding over whether to question Mr. Agreste about the nature of his accident last night. Now was not the time.

"Yes, o-of course Mr. Agreste, sir!" Her voice projected sharp and frightful.

"And where is my son?" Gabriel growled.

A different bitterness crept in his voice now.

"Adrien packed a few of his belongings and left to stay with a friend of his after graduation. He said he would be staying with them for a couple of days… Should I call and arrange a car to bring him home?"

Gabriel scoffed at the alibi.

"No, that won't be necessary. That will be all, you are dismissed for the day."

Nathalie was appalled by this demand. The day had only just begun! Who would answer his phone calls, or take care of the mansion. God forbid Mr. Agreste stumble or fall from his injuries with no one around to help him.

"But sir, I can't-"

Her protest was greeted by a blockade of fire.

" _Did I stutter?"_

Gabriel shivered with rage. The noise died once again, and would not return this time. Nathalie was gone without a word.

Slowly and reluctantly, he made found his way to his feet and dressed himself to the nines. An old cane was propped against the back wall of his closet. It was a valuable find in his condition.

Step by step, his weight trembling onto the cane, he made his way down the broad hallway. Like a ticking clock, his footsteps clicked on the marble floor, accompanied by the eerie creak of his walking stick. He was a ghost, roaming the halls of a long abandoned building.

His very own haunted mansion.

So, Adrien was staying with a friend of his? It must be that one boy he was always close with. The DJ. Perhaps he could contact his parents for an update on Adrien. Adrien would never have to know he called. _Now, what was his friend's name again?_ The more Gabriel searched for the answer to that the more he came to realize that he did not know any of Adrien's schoolmates… But Hawk Moth did.

The walk to his study was a short trip with so much on his mind. The air of the office was brimming with a comfortable nostalgia.

He chose this room because he had work to do.

Summer was approaching fast, and with it would come a new line of Gabriel brand clothing. Gabriel had not worked on any new designs, but he was never unprepared. This was not the first time being Hawk Moth had taken priority over his work. He spent the next number of hours digging through his various sketchbooks that he kept within his desk, his backups, his contingency plans. Some of the designs would suffice but something was missing. He needed something more.

Before long there was no more desk drawers being opened. No more tapping of pencils. No more flipping of pages. The silence was following him, and had now found it's way into his study.

He chose this room because he was accustomed to being alone here.

To drown out the harrowing death of the room, Gabriel turned on the television set. This would not prove helpful to his plight. The screen flashed blinding light into the evening gloom of his study. At once, Gabriel saw him, Chat Noir. He and Ladybug were being interviewed by Nadja Chamack. The headline for the report was vexing.

 _TERROR OF PARIS DEFEATED!_

He punched the volume key on the remote, filling the room with Nadja's voice.

"Do you have any comments about your decision to not turn Hawk Moth's true identity over to the police?"

The question seemed to irk Chat Noir. He glanced away from the microphone and Ladybug stepped in.

"Look, we don't know what provoked Hawk Moth to commit such horrible crimes, but if his akumas have taught us anything, it's that evil can be very persuasive. We never blamed an akuma victim for their actions behind their respect masks. Would it be possible that Hawk Moth himself could not control his own actions?"

"Are you suggesting that Hawk Moth was, in turn, just another akuma?"

This question caused Ladybug to stammer. Chat laid his hand on her shoulder.

"As the lady says, Hawk Moth's identity is not important." Chat interrupted. His voice was low and spiteful."He was the exact kind of low-life scum you would expect him to be. It would be the best thing for everyone if Paris forgot about him."

"But is there a chance that Hawk Moth could return? I'm sorry you two, but this feels like a premature celebration unless the culprit is behind bars."

Nadja had grown tired and pessimistic after reporting on so many akuma disasters.

" _Hawk Moth is as good as dead."_

Chat stormed away from the interview. Ladybug made a quick apology at his discretion before following after him.

Before the program could progress any further, Gabriel turned off the television. He preferred the darkness. He preferred the silence.

He chose this room because here he could cry without shame.

 **7 Days Remained**

When Nathalie returned the following morning, Gabriel had not moved. She brought him a light breakfast. One croissant, crisp and fresh out of the oven, and a cup of coffee. Gabriel enjoyed having the same breakfast each morning. The repetition gave his mind reprieve before he started on his work.

"I know you prefer to eat your breakfast in the dining room, but I figured, given your condition, I would bring you bring you breakfast in bed… I just hadn't expected you to be out of bed already... "

Gabriel glared at her discerningly. She could tell he had been in his study all night, but it would be futile to say anything. At least he was working. She hoped he was.

As she turned to walk out of the room, Gabriel spoke.

"If anyone calls today, tell them I am taking a personal day. I do not wish to be disturbed, are we clear?"

"Yes sir." Nathalie choked as she swallowed her words.

"And find out where my son is. I don't like being kept in the dark about his whereabouts."

Nathalie left the room in a panic, making an effort to keep her composure around Mr. Agreste. She had given Adrien some leeway after graduation. Now he was nowhere to be found. She would go to her office and make a few calls before remaining there for the rest of the day.

Gabriel did not finish his breakfast. He had no appetite but the coffee helped him stay to his work. He wrestled with his creative spirit to find the perfect design. Fashion was a constantly altering equation to Gabriel Agreste. It would grow and adapt to each generation, and he need only find the perfect formula. Crack the code. To Gabriel, fashion was not an art, but a science.

Something was missing as he searched his surroundings for inspiration. He thought perhaps it was Adrien. No, the idea was preposterous. Losing his wife did not halt his creative prowess, and this separation would not break him. Then he thought of his miraculous. He thought of the akumas and how he would design their unique outfits in his mind at a moment's notice. Their themes, their patterns….

Their colors.

Glancing at the monochrome walls that imprisoned him, he realized what he had lost.

 _Color… Why did he live in a mansion so devoid of color?_

Color would be the signature variable to his equation. Gabriel hatched an idea for his latest, revolutionary designs.

A summer fashion line… With fall colors.

A vision of brilliance presented itself to Gabriel. He gripped his pencil with intense devotion. Designs fell from his mind onto the canvas. Dresses with burnt sienna interwoven with a warm olive yellow. A light vest with a flat iron grey complimenting a vivid tangerine red.

A three-piece suit, epitomized in a deep purple.

 **6 Days Remained**

A ray of sunshine penetrated the blinds and bounced off of the pages of Gabriel's sketchbook. The sight of this was disorienting. Had he really worked until sunrise? Another sleepless night in the Agreste mansion, but this time it was the cost of excellence.

Gabriel was feeling much better after finishing the designs for the upcoming collection. His high spirits outweighed the soreness in his body. He walked with his cane at a brisk pace, making his way down the hall, finding a rhythm in his steps as he descended the large staircase. Nathalie would not be checking in for another two hours.

This morning, Gabriel Agreste would prepare his own breakfast.

He set a place for himself at the large dining room table. Setting a table for one… Had Nathalie done this every morning? She had to think the circumstances were a bit dismal.

He sliced himself a bite of pastry and brought it to his mouth. Before it reached his tongue, a wave of emotional despair washed over his mind. He had felt this kind of disturbance before, but why now? Why did it have to be this morning? Gabriel did not even stop to question how he was feeling such a connection without his miraculous.

He did not know the man's name or where he was…

But Gabriel could feel his anger.

The man had just been let go from a job he had worked at for nine years. The company was entering a recession, and he had just fallen victim to district-wide downsizing.

 _Greetings Down-Sizer. I am Hawk Moth, and I bestow upon you the power to shrink anyone who stands in your way._

Gabriel found himself absorbed in a fantasy as he grabbed at the vacant surface where he would usually pin his brooch. His knuckles were white from the grip. When he opened his eyes he saw fifteen empty chairs, staring at him in judgement.

 _Fifteen chairs… Why did he live in a mansion that could cater fifteen other people?_

The influence of the would be Down-Sizer stayed with Gabriel. His powers of extreme empathy had become a part of him, and even with his miraculous destroyed, he could still sense its presence like a phantom limb. There was no akuma. Nothing he could do to weaponize the negative emotion. He could only suffer through another's agony, apprehending every ounce of passion and rage. Gabriel would not escape this feeling. He was being haunted by the living.

There was a sound coming from the atrium. It was Nathalie. Gabriel had not moved for hours. His breakfast was cold and stale.

Nathalie was shocked to find him not only awake so early but sitting down for a meal she did not have made for him. He had no reaction to her entering the room, his gaze was locked ahead of him. His jaw was pressed shut with a rigid exertion. He looked as if he were in pain. Nathalie could not bare to evade her worry for him.

Her eyes strayed away from Mr. Agreste and down to the cane, propped against the side of the table.

"Sir, this has gone on long enough, we need to take you to a hospital!"

Little did she know, the pained expression on Gabriel's face was not that of physical distress, but mental, emotional. He was battling to tune out the crying voices in his mind. The turmoil. The despair.

He spoke, words like cold metal.

"Have you found my son?"

Nathalie felt her stomach churn.

"Sir, with all due respect, Adrien is with his friends. He is not answering his phone, I have tried many times to reach him and inform him of your current condition so that he could be here for you.

However, he has just finished school, his summer fencing classes don't begin for another three weeks, and he will not have another photoshoot until you finish your designs for Gabriel Summer!"

Gabriel bit the inside of his cheek.

"Please sir, this is one of the rare occasions where Adrien has a completely free schedule. Just let him decide how to spend his own time… You can't control him forever."

Gabriel was no longer engaged in pushing the chaos out of his mind. He let it sink in. It became him. The anger did not erupt from him. It calmly brewed. Manifested. His voice sounded with a devilishly bitter articulation.

"What you are telling me is that your position as a caretaker for my son is no longer necessary. Leave."

 _Leave._

Nathalie watched in quivering silence as Gabriel brought a slice of cold pastry to his mouth and began to chew. He composed himself in a tranquil rage. His face wore a chiseled frown, eyes flaring even though they were closed. He held his body firmly, maintaining his elegantly terrifying posture, breathing slowly as he bit down hard the stale breading.

Nathalie hurried out of the house, drowning in tears. With Adrien gone, Gabriel wouldn't need such an attentive assistant. He could make his own calls. He could schedule his own appointments. If the time came, he could love his own son.

Setting down his utensils, he placed his hands on his knees and fell back into his chair. Maintaining such an intimidating masquerade was taking a toll on him, but nothing was more draining that the family portrait hung in front of him. It was the focal point of the dining hall. It demanded attention.

Gabriel admired the portrait for a time, inspecting every detail. He noticed something in brush strokes that he had not seen in years. It was not the face of his late wife, but something he had not known was missing all of this time. It was Adrien's smile. The manor was adorned with pictures of Adrien. He was a model. He knew how to pose, and sculpt a perfect joyous expression. Gabriel had seen Adrien smile many times, but he had not seen _Adrien's smile._ Not for a very long time.

He dug his fingers into the knees of his pant legs, seizing the folds in the fabric, holding back the tears. He had finally washed out the other man's negative emotions. He was flooding his mind with his own sorrow now.

He felt the phone in his pocket. _I should call him_ , he thought. Adrien's name was the first to appear on Gabriel's contact list. He had not called him often. He wondered if he still had the same number. It was too late to wonder. The phone was calling.

He felt the room spin around him as the phone rang a somber tone in his ear.

 _The line rang once._

He grew dizzy. A knot formed in his throat.

 _Twice._

His eyes began to sting. He gasped for air, catching his breath.

 _Three times._

He would not cower away from this. He clearer his throat, wincing in anticipating.

A fourth ring did not come.

After a moment of gut wrenching silence, Gabriel heard his voice.

"Adrien here! Please leave a message!"

Gabriel choked.

He forced his heaving, sharp breathes into words.

"A..Adrien… Adrien could you please… Come home, Adrien."

He ended the call.

The Agreste family portrait dominated the room. It captured Gabriel's attention and would not allow him to leave.

He wished to return to those days. He wished for his family to be complete again. He wished for sleep. No one was listening.

 **5 Days Remained**

When the morning sun pulled the Agreste Mansion out from the darkness the following morning, Gabriel remained, prisoner of his own far-flung memories.

The voices had returned, greater in numbers. Somewhere a little girl was having an emotional breakdown brought on by a school bully. A man was losing in the final round of a tournament and could no one believes him when he says that his opponent is cheating. A woman's husband has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and is pleading for some kind of treatment.

 _Bull-Fighter_

 _Cheat Code_

 _Poison IV_

 _I am Hawk Moth!_

In his mind, Gabriel sent an akuma to each of these poor, hurting souls. He would give them the power they crave. They would return the favor.

To still the chaos in his consciousness, Gabriel tried once more to call Adrien. On this second attempt, the line rang four times before there was no sound from the other end. There was no voicemail message, no busy tone, no Adrien.

Gabriel was the first to speak.

"Adrien?" His heart jumped "Hello? Are you there?"

A voice answered him. It was not his son.

"I'm sorry Mr. Agreste but Adrien doesn't want to speak to you right now."

He had heard this voice before. The sound of it left him sedated.

It was Ladybug.

The call ended with a sulleness of mutual understanding. The disdain would affect Gabriel for the rest of his day.

He found his way out of the dining hall. Walking, pacing, limping his way throughout the entire mansion. He was avoiding the family portrait, shying away from the photographs of Adrien that furbished every wall.

 _Reminders… Why did he live in a mansion full of reminders?_

As he turned to make his way down the hallway, the floor appeared to stretch out before him. He walked faster, the far wall slipping farther and farther away. He felt sick. His legs were going numb.

He was almost to his bedroom when the earth yanked itself out from beneath him. He heard his cane snap in two.

 **4 Days Remained**

When Gabriel awoke nearly sixteen hours had passed. His head was spinning.

Somehow he found himself laying on his bed, on top of the covers. This couldn't have been Nathalie's doing… could it? Why would she have ever returned? Did she leave something behind that day?

Gabriel looked to his nightstand for a note, some kind of explanation. Instead what he found was his cane, with its broken halves fastened together, affixed with a thick layer of duct tape. It wasn't the most impressive repair, but it was more than Nathalie needed to do.

Had this been Nathalie? Fear settled over Gabriel as he questioned whether or not he had fixed the cane himself. Had he lost time again?

Had he started losing time as Gabriel Agreste and not as Hawk Moth?

He once again turned to the painkillers in his medicine cabinet. He had a fierce, throbbing headache. As he inspected the mark on his forehead he remembered the fall. He had experienced his own body completely shutting down without fear. He did not worry about what was happening to him. The pain from his contusion was unbearable.

He took two capsules for good measure.

With the aid of his jury-rigged walking stick, he walked into the atrium. Something was different today. Although he was not hearing anything in particular, the silence had subsided. Gabriel was not alone.

From his study, he could view all of the mansion's security surveillance and check the status of the building's integrity.

 _Gates, locks, cameras… Why did he live in a mansion built like a fortress?_

Only one of the inner mansion doors was locked. He had not prepared for that door to be the door to Adrien's room. He could disarm the lock remotely. He could view the camera footage from his room and know what it was up to, but he refused. That was not the way to handle this. It would only make things worse.

He elected to keep an eye on the status of the lock and return to his work. Even though his head was now aching, the event of his blackout did leave him well rested. He reviewed his designs from the other day. They were solid concepts, but he would need a demonstration before he could aim for any kind of mass production. Without much deliberation, he chose to tailor a suit for himself. Exploring his personal stock of fabric he found the perfect, deep purple cashmere. Unfortunately there would not be enough for the entire three-piece set. He would need to order more for the pants and vest.

For now he had just enough material to start on the exuberant blazer he had designed. Purple cashmere, with jet black silk over a broad lapel.

Gabriel absorbed himself in his work. Halting every couple of hours to find something to eat or to check if Adrien's door was still locked. The confirmation reminded him that Adrien was home. Adrien was safe.

The day flew by for Gabriel without much to speak of. He was relieved. He was working. He understood that Adrien would need some time before they could try to behave like a family again, and he was willing to wait until then. Staying busy with his suit helped to purge the foreign emotions from his mind.

As the sun set, Gabriel was satisfied with the progress he had made. He folded the blazer and stored it under his desk. The world would not see this masterpiece until it was complete.

Checking the security monitor, he could see that Adrien's door was still locked. As he passed by his room on the way to bed, Gabriel stopped for a moment and listened. He did not hear a sound from the other side, but once again there was not the silence he had grown accustomed to.

"Good night, Adrien."

Gabriel waited for a response that did not come.

He turned to continue down the hall when the unmistakable sound of the door's lock clicked through the empty atrium. Gabriel stopped mid-stride before sinking back to the doorway. Was this an invitation? Was he ready to talk?

Gabriel reached for the door handle. It felt brittle and cold to the touch.

He did not enter Adrien's room.

"I'm glad you're home."

He withdrew his hand and walked back to his bedroom.

Tonight Gabriel would find sleep when he lay down in the darkness.

It helped knowing how much progress he had made today.

It helped knowing that Adrien was finally home.

The painkillers helped more than anything.

 **3 Days Remained**

On the seventh day following the loss of his miraculous, Gabriel experienced total bliss.

He had dreamt that night of a wholeness he had yearned for. There was happiness. There was unity. He dreamt that his family was together again.

Just himself, Adrien… and her.

When they were together, Gabriel never used to feel like he was treading water. He was flowing with the tide. Each memory was bathed in a radiant, shining light. There was no darkness back then. No loneliness, no misery, no silence.

When Gabriel awoke, he could still taste the night.

His eyes were drenched again, but these tears would not burn. He toweled the moisture from his face and proceeded to seek out his wardrobe for the day.

On this morning, fashion icon Gabriel Agreste would make his way out of his room and down the hall in a minimal attire, black slacks and a white t-shirt, hair wild and unmanaged. Gabriel had never dressed himself so carelessly, not even in his university days. He was not concerned enough to waste time putting together his outfit that could be spent with Adrien.

His ears caught the distant sound of a television echo through the house as he entered the atrium. The walk to Adrien's room had never felt longer.

 _Distance… Why did he live in a mansion with such distance between him and his family?_

Adrien's door was open. Through the doorway, Gabriel could see the back of his golden blonde head, peeking up from the back of the couch. Barefooted, he abandoned his cane at the door and made his entrance quietly, comfortably drowning in the dread that flowed through his body. His heart beat harder the closer he pulled himself towards Adrien. He had longed for his son to appear and yet he still feared what would come from this visit.

Adrien was the first to speak.

"Morning."

Gabriel was still getting used to his son's cat-like awareness. He had made his approach so gently, ready to recant his decision. He had expected the silent treatment and yet he had walked into a conversation. It was his turn to talk.

"Yes, good morning."

He continued his approach, careful yet hurried. Without his cane he was looking for something to lean on. He would not allow his son to see him so injured after their battle. He wanted to bury that moment. His posture grew unsteady, feet wavering the closer he got. His eyes were on the couch.

In a final boost of adrenaline, he managed to grab at the back of the couch and whip his sore body around to the seat. Once he was off of his feet, he could not help but let out a resounding sigh of relief, his right arm draping over the side and left arm landing across the top of the couch.

He could almost touch Adrien, who surprisingly had not seemed to notice his father's stunt landing. His eyes were focused on the television. Gabriel's pounding heart was so deafening, he had not realized that Adrien was watching a news report. Leaning forward, Nadja Camack's face came into focus on the screen. She was conducting a live interview with Ladybug.

Gabriel tried to force himself to start a conversation with Adrien, but instead fell mute with the memory of what his son said under the mask on his last tv appearance. He could not let the harsh words cloud his willingness to forgive. He searched for something else to occupy his thoughts. He wondered if Adrien had eaten lunch yet, with Nathalie gone. He wondered why Adrien wasn't there to help Ladybug. He wondered if Adrien still loved him.

From the interview, Gabriel deduced that Ladybug had heroically captured a group of run-of-the-mill bank robbers. In the event, a local man jumped up from the floor and tackled one of the fugitives who Ladybug did not see pointing a gun towards her. They emphasized that the man was okay and being taken to a hospital with only a minor gunshot wound on his shoulder.

"This just goes to show that Chat Noir and I aren't the only heroes in Paris!"

Ladybug's words sparked a commotion in the horde of reporters. The crowd began catechizing her, all probing for the answer to difference variations of the same question.

"Where is Chat Noir?"

Ladybug's eyes screamed in distress from the uproar as she glanced about for an escape route.

"That's not important right now. Today, this average man was the real hero! Each and every one of you can be a hero in your own way. We all have greatness within us."

 _Greatness._

It was time for the best in Gabriel Agreste to come out.

"She really is amazing, isn't she?"

Without averting his eyes from the television he spoke with a warm voice, perhaps even in a way to show approval.

"She's reckless."

Adrien's voice came out bitter and cold. Gabriel's eyes were on him now, but he refused to meet his father's gaze. Adrien's pouting face had been a common sight in the Agreste household for years now, but something about this particular pout was unfamiliar to Gabriel. Searching for remnants of his empathetic sixth sense, he could feel Adrien's anger welling up inside of him, but there was something else, something devastating, burning within his son's tremorous eyes. Adrien was afraid.

Gabriel hunched his body forward, propping his weight against his knees, hands folding in front of his face.

"If you ever want to talk, my schedule won't be as busy as it has been. I have a lot more free time now and I'll be home more often."

Gabriel was not ready to tell him about Nathalie, and even less willing to talk about his leftover powers.

Adrien was shocked by his father's invitation to talk. He had been never really been available as an emotional support. His love only existed as a financial backer, a majority stockholder. Not only had Adrien never opened up to his father, Adrien had never opened up to anyone besides Marinette about his life as a superhero.

But when Marinette is the only person he can open up to… who could he talk to about Ladybug?

"She just…"

Adrien folded his arms and buried his face, shaking. Gritting his teeth, using his anger as a floodgate to prevent his emotions from pouring out of him.

"She didn't have to interfere! She could have gotten someone killed, even worse that someone could have been her!"

He rubbed his palms against his eyes, gripping at his hair, shoving the tears back. Gabriel had seen Adrien like this once before. Adrien loved Ladybug more than he could bear. He was afraid of losing someone else that he loves.

"Paris was fine without Ladybug before the first Akuma. For years and years everything was fine! With the akumas gone they don't need us any more…"

Adrien choked down any spiteful thoughts he had about the akumas. He was talking to his father now. He would not allow himself to speak to Hawk Moth.

As Adrien's hands pressed against his face, Gabriel noticed that his ring was missing from his right hand. He would not question the ring's absence, but took solace in the fact that neither of them donned their miraculous in that moment. Perhaps one day Hawk Moth and Chat Noir will be a distant memory. They could be father and son, and nothing else would matter.

This time there would be no miraculous, no kwami, no superpowers.

Gabriel gently reached out and rested his hand on Adrien's shoulder. Adrien's hands wiped from his face, unveiling his puffy, weeping eyes. Their eyes met for the first time since their last confrontation. This time, there was no hatred, no anger, no regret. Gabriel smiled as he felt a tear gather in his eye.

"I'm so proud of the man you've become."

Adrien twitched with a happy shiver, squinting back the tears. For an instant, a smile flashed onto his face before he could compose himself. Though it was brief, Gabriel recognized the sight. It was the smile from the family portrait. It was Adrien's smile.

He decided the two had cried enough the past few days. Patting Adrien's back he began to work his way to his feet.

"Come with me to my study, I want to show you something!"

Once he was on his feet, Gabriel struggled to find his balance as he began to walk out, putting his weight on the couch as he moved around it.

"Here…"

Adrien appeared beside him, propping his arm over his shoulder he helped his father out of the room and across the steps to his study. Until then, Gabriel had not noticed that Adrien was fully dressed, with his shoes on and a grey hoodie covering his black t-shirt. Adrien had been prepared to leave at a moment's notice.

As Adrien let his father down into his chair, he saw the designs laid out across his desk. Simple, yet intricate pencil sketches. There had to be over a dozen different designs, Gabriel had been hard at work! Adrien was speechless at the sight of them. In all of his life, no matter how much he would criticize his father's parenting he could never deny his brilliance. This might have been some of his best designs of Gabriel's career. This was Gabriel's Summer.

"How long have you been working on these, Dad?"

Adrien's words were leaking with his amazement.

Gabriel laughed, "Would you believe me if I said I just started on this the other day?"

Adrien's eyes narrowed in disbelief as he continued to look through the papers.

"I was… distracted for a long time and put these off until the last minute. Luckily I caught a breath of inspiration and all of this just poured out of me."

Adrien somewhat honored to witness his father at the top of his game. He could not help but smile seeing the work of his genius.

His smile soon faded as he saw the last design in the stack. It was just a suit, a little slim fit with a broad shoulder line and a thick lapel that was the focal point of the attire. The pencil marks shading the lapel were dark, hard scratches. The sight left Adrien a bit disturbed as he set it back down on the desk.

"I just have to finish tailoring a few demonstration pieces and you'll be wearing these in front of the camera in no time at all!"

Although this had always been the arrangement, Gabriel designing clothes that Adrien would then model, the two had never worked as a team. The defeat of Hawk Moth had birthed a new beginning for Gabriel and Adrien Agreste. Their future together stretched out in front of Gabriel, and it had never looked so bright.

"Have you worked out any colors yet?"

Adrien's voice had dropped since he last spoke. He was still excited, still dripping with intrigue. But now there was a hint of skepticism. Something was not setting right with him.

"OH! I almost forgot!"

Gabriel busted out with an enthusiasm Adrien had not seen from his father in years.

"I'm going to design the Summer line in typical Fall colors! So, for instance this dress here can be a sort of emerald with highlights of a sort of dusk blue!"

Gabriel continued to ramble on, passionately. The proud grin on his face seemed to radiate in the gloomy atmosphere of the study. His hands flew through the air as he described the colors.

Adrien was impressed. It had always been a given, in any form of design, that certain colors are associated with the change of the season. It was such a rare occurrence to see something go against such a simple normality. Fashion had never been about blending in, so why was the industry so comfortably drown in that sort of regulation?

Adrien felt his hairs stand on end as he glanced down at the suit with the black lapel. The dark, almost desperate scratches of the pencil disturbed him. Gabriel was still babbling on his tangent about colors when Adrien interrupted him.

"What color is this one going to be?"

He pointed to the suit sketch, his finger landing on the desk forcefully. His arms were shaking now. The hard thud from the desk caused all sound to flee the room, basking the two in silence.

Gabriel was tongue-tied, nervously glancing underneath his desk, trying to articulate his words.

"I-I.. had not chosen anything for that design yet…"

He could not look his son in the eye. The look of wonder and amazement had evaporated from Adrien's gaze. His eyes were cold, rigid, with a lethal stare, stabbing at Gabriel.

 _What does he have under his desk?_

Gabriel was trapped under Adrien's glare. He would need to show him the jacket, there was no avoiding it. Clearing his throat, he pulled unfinished blazer out from underneath him. He did not show weakness. He was proud of his design. He sat, his back straight and chin held up, hoping Adrien would respect his creative decision. His tribute to Hawk Moth.

Adrien's eye twitched, a subtle recoil caused by the explosion that erupted in his mind. He remained still, immobilized by his own outrage. His emotional floodgate held strong.

"You expect me to wear this?"

His words came out quiet but razor sharp.

"You expect _anyone_ to wear this?"

Gabriel could see the fire burning behind Adrien's eyes. This one slip up would not break them. He remained quiet, collecting his thoughts, searching for the right words that would not come to him.

"Look what you've done to yourself."

Adrien was speaking to his father, not Hawk Moth.

"You have your chance to stop being being the villain. Why won't you take it?"

The weight of the whole world was pushing down on Gabriel Agreste. Every furious, crying, desperate soul was in sync with his. Hundreds, thousands, too many to count. He wished they would all shut up.

Adrien took a step back, he stance wavering with his boiling blood. He planted his hand on the desk for balance, palming the sketch of Gabriel's evil design. With a strong, trembling grip, he crumpled the paper in his hand.

"Adrien, stop that!"

Gabriel's stern voice was not enough, and he could not go beyond that. He prayed for the courage to defend himself, with the fear of Adrien leaving again.

As he held the sketch, Adrien prayed for his cataclysm.

The sound of the page being crushed was deafening in the silent room. The voices in Gabriel's head were screaming.

In that moment, all Adrien wanted to do was destroy. Destruction was the only recourse he knew. Even without the mask, the power to ruin flowed deep in his veins.

He needed a tool. His eyes clung to the fountain pen that lay on his father's desk. It would be just sharp enough to pierce, just strong enough to tear. He threw the paper ball aside and jumped towards the jacket in Gabriel's hands.

Adrien's appearance had changed. He moved swiftly, violently. Gabriel could swear he almost looked beastial as he tore the sleeves out from his palms.

The voices were growing louder, taking control of his thoughts.

"Adrien, don't!"

Gabriel was drowning in the sea of phantom voices. He had to make a move. He could not sit and watch as Adrien destroyed another thing he held dear. It was as if he were witnessing the destruction of his miraculous all over again.

"You're addicted!"

Brandishing the fountain pen, Adrien was ready to stab into the jacket, rip the fabric, wash the colors clean in a deep void of black ink.

Gabriel made a split second decision to stop Adrien. So be it, the battle between Chat Noir and Hawk Moth would commence one more time.

This time there would be no miraculous, no kwami, no superpowers.

And this time he would win.

Gabriel found the strength to push himself to his feet, fighting the pain in his side, charging at Adrien. He grabbed his son's wrist just as the pen nearly sliced into the fabric, forcing a small droplet of ink to fall from the pen, onto the purple cashmere.

Ripping the jacket away from Adrien's grasp, Gabriel threw his arm back forcefully, causing Adrien to stumble and fall to the hard tile floor. It was not an intentional act of violence towards his son, but a defensive reflex. No, Gabriel was not addicted, but in this past week he had not even begun to to get over the loss of his miraculous, the pain Adrien had caused him.

Adrien felt the ground with his hand, his mind still processing what his father had done.

 _And now the floodgates burst open._

Adrien exploded, letting out a savage yell as he leapt off of the ground to his feet. He was feral. He was no longer dealing with his father, he was dealing with Hawk Moth and Gabriel was dealing with Chat Noir.

Without hesitation, Adrien flung the pen at Gabriel, the bladed tip ripping through the air past his cheek, colliding with the painting behind him.

The portrait of Adrien's mother.

The pen burst open in a cloud of thick black, leaving dark streaks and splatters of ink, the tip stabbing through the ebony wound of the portrait. Even without his ring Adrien had caused a cataclysm.

This time there were no superpowers.

Still, the streets of Paris froze and waited for the ground to shake.

The father and son stood, motionless, speechless, in witness to the ruined, bleeding portrait. Gabriel was trembling, fists clenched tight. The voices in his mind did not want to bother him now.

Adrien was paralyzed with fear. This was not what he had wanted to happen. He wondered what exactly his intentions were when he threw the pen. In the years before his battle with Hawk Moth, Adrien had never stood up to his father. What had changed him so much that he could lash out so violently? Deep down he knew his miraculous was to blame.

Adrien could do anything behind the mask, his shield of illusive bravery.

His eyes moved, reluctantly away from the painting and towards Gabriel. His were closed, and his knuckles were white.

"Get out."

Adrien could not move. He desperately searched for anything he could say but the words eluded him. Every nerve in his body was screaming for him to run.

"Dad, I-"

"LEAVE! GET OUT OF HERE AND DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT COMING BACK!"

By the time the echo of Gabriel's harsh command had faded, Adrien was already gone. The distant sound of hasty footsteps could be heard coming from the atrium.

Gabriel waited until he heard the front door open and close before falling to his knees.

He reached out to the painting, his arm shaking, eyes pouring tears onto the floor.

"I'm so… so sorry, my love."

He placed his palm against the portrait, spreading his finger, feeling every brush stroke. Some of the splattered ink dripped down the surface of the canvas down to his hand. He would not move it.

"I know if you were here, you'd have the perfect words to fix all of this…"

He slowly lost the strength to hold his arm out, letting his hand slide down the painting, leaving a streak of black as it fell. Gabriel felt as though he were sinking, as he collapsed into himself, weeping, wailing. His cries could be heard throughout the empty mansion. He had never cried this loudly in his life.

A lifetime seemed to pass with Gabriel lying motionless on the floor, soaking in his puddle. The hours crept by tauntingly, leaving him with no motivation to move. Time had always passed this way, every minute painfully drawn-out, every second lingering, tormenting Gabriel ever since the day he lost her.

Then there came a noise. A sudden, startling stimulation. Gabriel's soaked eyes opened.

It was the doorbell.

To be more precise, it was the buzzer for the front grate that lates to the entryway to the mansion.

 _Adrien._

Pushing his lifeless body off of the floor and onto his feet, Gabriel slammed his hand onto the gate controls to let Adrien in. The pain in his ribs had faded and jumping upright did not bring back his headache. It was as if he had willed the pain center of his brain to shut down, to no longer concern itself with his physical well being. He only cared about Adrien.

The gate was opening.

There was no time to wait for him here, he would meet him in the courtyard, he could greet him with the greatest hug he had ever given. They could fix this. HE could fix this.

As he reached the entrance hall, he noticed his cane, still leaning against the wall outside of Adrien's room. He felt his body slow to a halt, balancing himself against the wall.

 _Stairs._

Carefully, Gabriel began his descent. He decided it would be better to make his way down to the door a quick as he could, even if it meant not taking the slight detour to grab his cane.

When he started down the second set of stairs, there was a mistake, a slight miscalculation. Overshooting the third step, Gabriel's body was ripped down by its own weight. Spiralling down, failing limbs, pummelled by each step, battering, breaking, bruising. In a storm of shock and pain, he clung his arms around his face, scraping his elbows on edges.

At last, he landed on the floor with a thud, his knees scratched and burned, arms bleeding.

Then came a knock on the door.

 _Adrien._

Gabriel rose from his fetal position, and began to crawl, dragging his legs behind him. Thankfully Adrien did not immediately come inside and see him like this, but why was he knocking? They had both said a number of things they would live to regret, but Adrien should know that he is always welcome here.

 _Knock Knock Knock_

Gabriel could feel the pain now. Grinding his teeth, he pushing himself forward, inching forward, closer and closer to his salvation. When Adrien left there was nothing he could have said to assure Gabriel that he would ever return.

"He came back, my dear! Did you send him back to me?"

 _Knock Knock Knock_

Gabriel was leaving tracks, haunting streaks of red and black left his hands from the blood and ink that now covered them. He was almost there now, he could nearly reach the door handle.

Clearly Adrien did not feel welcome to enter without permission if he was knocking.

Clinging to the handle, he pulled himself off of the ground. It wasn't too late to fix things, a few cuts and bruises would be worth it.

Flinging open the front door, Gabriel was blinded by his first sight of direct sunlight in days. He shielded his eyes with his hand.

 _Adrien… Adrien?_

As his sight adjusted to the intense bloom of sunlight, Gabriel did not see Adrien before him. He did not see anyone at all. The gate was closing. Gabriel was alone.

Before him lay a package. The stock of purple cashmere he has ordered to complete his suit.

Kicking the box indoors, it was clear to Gabriel that Adrien was not coming back this time.

 _Adrien… Why did he live in a mansion without Adrien?_

 **2 Days Remained**

The crash of crumpling paper filled air of Gabriel's study once more. Each time it sounded brought him back to the fight. Scratching out another failed attempt at finding the right words to say to Adrien, he crushed the note into a ball and tossed it onto the floor.

He had only written five words before giving up:

" _Do you still love me?"_

He eyed the phone laying on the desk in front of him. He could call Adrien right now, but the words would not flow, not like they would for her. He would need to articulate his message preemptively. Tailor each sentence, design each syllable with passion and grace. Unfortunately, love was not a science to Gabriel like fashion was. There was no formula, no equation to solve.

He made a brief, reluctant glance at the portrait, painted black. No artist had ever captured her beauty so accurately. Her perfection, tainted by Adrien's destruction. He chose this painting for his study because he could not bare to work without her nearby. Now he could hardly stand to look at her, swimming in darkness.

She had always been closer to Adrien but that did not mean he loved their son any less. His affection was not something he could utilize. He could not dictate his feelings in order to show just how much he cares. He did not have the perfect words like she did.

He missed her more than anything.

Turning away from the scene of Adrien's crime, he looked towards his own. His purple suit. He had been hard at work throughout the night, only stopping momentarily to seek out the right words to say to Adrien. But the suit demanded his full attention. It was nearly finished now, being worn by a mannequin in the corner of the room. The colors seemed to glow in the pale light of the evening. It was magnificent, Gabriel's magnum opus.

He had originally begun tailoring the suit to match Adrien's measurements. Now nothing could assure Gabriel of Adrien's return. It was only a minor setback. He decided he would never force his son to model an outfit against his will, but he would not forgo his design. The suit would be made, he would personally tailor a demonstration piece, and he would take Adrien's place in the reveal.

He would wear the suit on the catwalk himself.

After reacting so defensively when Adrien tried to destroy the suit's jacket, he knew he needed to finish it, to share it with the world. It would be the closure he needed to cope with the loss of his miraculous, to begin forgiving Adrien for the pain he has caused him.

Hours snuck past Gabriel as he continued to sew. Before long, he could no longer see well enough from the light of the windows to continue. Had he really worked all day? Did he always lose time like this while he was hard at work?

Flipping on the lights, Gabriel eased into his chair. The suit was finished, but his words for Adrien did not have any progress to show for. This was unacceptable. Gently moving the pen against the page, Gabriel wrote from his heart. As much as he wanted Adrien back, it would not be worth it unless Adrien could accept his decisions. He wrote to help his son understand his motives, his deepest desires working beneath the veil of Hawk Moth. He was writing the words for her.

Everything he did was for her.

The noise of paper sounded again, but this time gentle, precise. Gabriel folded his words for Adrien and lay them on the desk. Tomorrow would be the reveal of Gabriel's Summer. He would organize the affair with Alec Cataldi in the morning. After all is said and done, he would give Adrien a call, not that he expected to receive an answer. One way or another, he would relay his message.

There was only one thing left to do, make sure the suit fits.

Gabriel slithered his hands into the sleeves, gingerly filling the shell around his arms. He crept into the suit like a second skin. Admiring his own handiwork in the mirror, he found the attire to be near perfection, only missing one small element. There was something else Gabriel had envisioned, something he would not dare to have drawn as part of the original design. His hands reached for the area where he would pin his miraculous.

He was missing the moth brooch.

Picking up his cane, he limped out of his study. The house was dark, lifeless. Built with such a glorious array of windows and skylights, the Agreste manor seemed to suffocate with the setting sun. The atrium looked bleak, abandoned. Nobody was home.

 _Empty… Why did he live in a mansion, wasting so much space?_

A chill circulated through the air of intimidating hall. Gabriel desperately hurried as quickly as his body would allow him, across the staircase and towards the hallway to his bedroom. With everyone gone and light from the day diminished, his mansion was looking less and less like his home and more like his lair. Gabriel shivered at the thought of it.

 _Cold… Why did he live in a mansion with air so rigid?_

As he neared the archway out of the atrium, a light emitted from the slight gap of a door left ajar. It was the door to Adrien's room. Willing his body to check for the source, he pulled open the door. Adrien's television had been left on the day before, glowing in the pitch black darkness of his son's deserted quarters. This place smelled like Adrien. This place reeked of camembert.

Approaching the television, Gabriel saw, without much surprise, a picture of Ladybug and Chat Noir. The show was a local late night talk show, filmed live at the tv station. A man and woman were debating something, quietly. The volume had been turned down, nearly silent. Gabriel did not need to listen to know what they were discussing. In the bottom corner of the screen, in large print read the topic, "WHERE IS CHAT NOIR?"

Gabriel wondered the same question as he powered off the program.

Glancing around at Adrien's luxurious room, a burning, shaking twitch rumbled in Gabriel's feet and shot up to his chest. Gripping his cane and grinding his teeth, he managed to choke down any tears would try to force their way out. He turned back, heading out the door. He could not stand the thought of his severed connection with Adrien. He could not be far enough away from here. Adrien's room was foreign to him, uncharted. He was unwelcomed here.

 **The Final Day**

Midnight.

When the next day began, Gabriel had not yet made his way to bed. He had not been able to find sleep since Adrien left. Instead he found himself sitting in the dining hall, shrouded in the night. His eyes had adjusted just well enough to see the family portrait. To him, the room was more than well lit with the light of Adrien's smile.

Enough was enough. He took up his broken, tired body and walked to his room. Haunting the halls once more, he understood what was keeping him awake all of this time. He was but a specter, a roaming spirit in this haunted mansion. This building used to be his home, long ago, but not anymore.

 _Home… Why did he live in a mansion he could not call home?_

Gabriel Agreste had not been home in ages.

Enlightened with this discovery, Gabriel found himself disgusted as he entered the master bedroom. He had grown too used to an empty bed, maybe even growing fond. The sight was not inviting to him, but he needed to rest before his busy day tomorrow. The world was eagerly awaiting Gabriel's Summer. He could give them Gabriel's Fall.

There was no need to rummage through his medicine cabinet as his pain medication was already sitting out on his counter, patiently. Pouring the remaining cluster of capsules from the bottle, Gabriel swallowed each, one at a time, in quick succession. Even with Adrien gone, he would sleep tonight, he would give his body and his soul time to heal.

For a long time he stared into the reflection of his eyes. He was deeply afraid of what he saw looking back at him. At first he thought that Hawk Moth had died with the moth brooch. But now, seeing himself donning the purple suit, seeing the scowl in his own expression, perhaps it was Gabriel that died with his Miraculous.

Hawk Moth was very much alive, menacing beyond his mirror.

Suddenly, the world around his reflection blurred and twisted in a flash flood of spiralling darkness. The pills were taking effect, abruptly, violently. Gabriel glided backwards before landing on his bed, gripping the sheets, trying to move himself to the center. He did not have the strength to take off the suit.

Reaching into his front jacket pocket, he slipped out the words he had planned for Adrien, unfolding it. He wanted to look it over one last time to make sure it was perfect. Even if he may never have the chance to say these words to him.

 _Adrien,_

 _I am not about to apologize for the things I have done with my miraculous. I know you would never believe me, even if it were true. I can not truthfully tell you that I am sorry, because every onslaught I caused, every akuma, every broken, shattered soul that I turned into a villain was for your mother._

 _Now you don't have to necessarily agree with it and you don't have to believe in it but this is going to have been the greatest work I have ever done, individually, over the span of my small existence. After your mother passed, I lost myself. I lost my passion, my creativity. I had no more endless nights of concentrated joy and affection to string me along. Without her I had no reason. The light from her existence would battle any darkness I found in my life, beaming, seeming to glow only brighter until it was gone. When I learned that there would be a way to bring her back, The Ultimate Power, using you and Ladybug's miraculouses to have complete control over life and existence, I gladly became the villain. If you think for one moment that I would waste such an opportunity then you have clearly never experienced the ecstasy of holding the love of your life._

 _No, I will not apologize for it but I will not wake up every day and be the subject of your hatred. I would hope that you would do the same, but yet we can't even decently concede about these little things, let alone manage to behave like a family until our hearts mend._

 _So, yes, I am going to move forwards with my designs for Gabriel's Summer. If you do not approve then you will not be forced to model anything from the line that you do not want to. This is my life's work. The only thing that brought back my artistic enthusiasm after losing your mother was the thrill of creating akumas, designing their costumes directly from my heart._

 _Perhaps I was always fighting a losing battle trying to capture your miraculouses, chasing after delusional ideals of happiness and pleasure. I am sorry that I ever put you in harm's way. I know I have never been proficient in displaying my feelings for you, but I do love you with all of my heart, and I hope that once summer is over, we can put this all behind us. If you can't accept that then I cannot force you. I will leave you out of all future Gabriel fashion expositions. When my time comes, I will go quietly to not bother you._

 _I hope that one day we can finally be father and son, no miraculouses, no super powers to peg us against one another._

 _Sincerely,  
Your Father_

Gripping the page to his chest, Gabriel closed his eyes before being washed away in a sea of color.

In the distance, he saw her smile, glowing, radiant.

He ran towards her at full speed.

He could no longer feel the soreness in his legs

Running and running, his pace slowed a bit.

He was tired.

He was dying.


End file.
